Friends Watch Out For Eachother
by goddessoftea
Summary: What happens when Jay, the responsible one, finds himself low on inhibitions? It seems there's, ah, too much blood in his alcohol system? No wait... I've always wondered what the heroes were like when they perhaps weren't totally sober.
1. Part 1

"Jay… how much have you had to drink?" Asked Herry, as he caught Jay's fist mid-punch. Herry and Theresa stood outside, having just been joined by Jay. It was another warm night, and they sat in plastic lawn chairs in a circle, although most of the chairs were empty. Music beat the walls of the house which was uphill from them, and to the right of the chairs the large, placid pool sat in the ground. I say placid, however the water's surface was regularly disrupted by things such as bottles being thrown into it.

"A little… maybe more!" Jay grinned sheepishly, seeming to find himself very funny. His grin seemed to humour him, and he laughed again at himself. Then, without warning, sat himself right on Theresa. She gasped at the weight of him, but he showed little consideration for her at the time.

"Ahh," He said, "that's better. Less…" Jay seemed to be searching for the word, "swaying."

Theresa's eyebrows began to rise. Jay, drunk? Surely not. She gently reached around him, to the hand clutching a mostly full bottle. Her fingers touched his warmly and gently, as she gently prized the bottle from his hands.

"How about we just sit that down for a moment, hey?" She said, smiling serenely as she shoved the bottle at Herry under the chair.

"Will I get it back?" Jay asked, as if flirting. Great, thought Theresa, he's finally stopped worrying about Chronos and it's because he's drunk. She herself had drunk a little earlier on, but previous experience told her that being drunk and psychic didn't end well. She'd found herself meditating and floating on beds and on the dance floor, or in chairs too. She made things fly around the room, go places that perhaps they weren't meant to go. Like a cupcake to Archie's face, for instance. At the time it had been absolutely hilarious to Theresa, but after Jay kindly led her away, she realised it was probably for her benefit.

"Maybe if you're good." She responded, eyes darting up to his. Herry chuckled.

"Okay Jay, come on, fess up: who spiked your drink?" Herry asked, sounding repetitive. Before Jay could begin to answer though, a figure fell into the pool. She had red hair and the stance of a huntress. A gold wristband seemed stuck to her arm, and she fired shots from it as she fell into the pool.


	2. Part 2

"I liked that song, you-" She bellowed before she fell under. She stood up quickly though, as Archie ran to the balcony above the pool.

"Come and get me, you chicken!" She yelled, shooting at him. A shot hit Archie's jacket, singeing a hole in it. He fingered it, observing the black burn marks.

"That's my favourite sweater!" Archie leapt in after Atlanta. However, he resurfaced, yelling "Help! I can't swim!" and flailing. Jay leapt up, stumbling clumsily towards his friend as Atlanta tried and failed in her own drunkenness to help Archie.

"I'm coming Archie!" He ran heroically, even if the words were slurred.

"Just hold on-" Jay crashed into the pool fence. He stumbled back, peering up at this new enemy. He looked ready to jump the fence in the semi-darkness. Herry and Theresa simply watched, unable to be shocked out of their reverie. Jay leapt as if to scale the fence, however it seemed the alcohol in his system was too much. He began to jump, but instead of lifting one leg up to scale it, both legs were lifted. Jay clanged against the metal posts, landing on his butt again.

"Alright then, if that's how you wanna play it!" He roared, reaching back and getting his sword out. At this point, both Theresa and Herry looked at each other.

"You try to control Jay, I'll fish out Archie." Said Theresa, and the two leapt up too. Theresa saw Herry trying to calm Jay down as she pushed through the pool gate and dove into the icy water. She saw Odie reaching out a broom handle to Atlanta, who grabbed it like her last straw. She'd definitely had too much to drink. Odie pulled her in as Theresa grabbed Archie's flailing body and pulled him up.

The two were on all fours on the pool tiles, dripping wet, Theresa's hair in her eyes. Archie was coughing like crazy, although he couldn't have taken in much water. Odie seemed happy to tend to him, and began sitting him up. Theresa was glad: she didn't fancy dealing with a sopping wet, drunk Archie any time soon. Atlanta was drying herself off, wiping her hands on her clothes and shaking her hair.

"Bloody dick…" she grumbled, shaking off her wrist gun. "I liked that song, it was the first good one they played tonight." Theresa heard a spiky laughter from above, and turned to see Neil laughing his head off at Atlanta and Archie.

"You two should get drunk more often!" He yelled, laughing. Theresa caught his eye, and sent him a death stare. He stopped laughing, and sheepishly came down to help out. Theresa walked over to Atlanta.

"I'm sure they'll be other songs, Atlanta. Do you want a towel?" She asked calmly. Anything to keep her cool.

"No. I want my song back on…" Atlanta trailed off, swaying slightly to the side.

"We… might have to wait for that one."

"No!" Atlanta sounded like a whining child, cranky and tired. At that point, Neil walked up to the pair.

"Neil, can you take Atlanta to Herry's truck? I think it's time we left."

"But, but the party's just getting started!" He grumbled, whining too. Great.

"Neil!" He cowered a little.

"Okay, okay." He began to talk kindly to Atlanta, whom obliged as they began to walk off. Theresa heard Neil mutter, "She's getting as bad as Jay these days." Theresa sighed, and turned back.


	3. Part 3

"Odie, can you get Archie to Herry's truck?" Odie gave her a thumbs up, and began coercing Archie, with his long dragging limbs and unsteady gait, towards the car. She then headed to where Herry and Jay stood, Herry holding Jay back at the shoulders.

"But- but they needed help!" He stammered, pushing to get past Herry and to the pool, oblivious to the events around them.

"No, Jay, they're fine now. It's probably time we go." Herry tried to calm Jay, who slumped at the shoulders. Theresa walked up, still humoured by the situation. Whoever had spiked Jay's drink had done it well: normally he was so careful.

"Herry, the others are ready to go. Can you get the truck ready? I'll bring Jay along."

"Sure thing, I'm ready to leave." Herry began to walk off, and Theresa headed over to where Jay crouched on the ground.

"You okay?" She asked softly.

"My head is throbbing… and I have to help them!" Jay looked up suddenly, peering around like a maniac in the darkness.

"No, Jay, they're fine now. It's time to go." Jay began to stand up, and Theresa grabbed his sword where Herry had probably dropped it when disarming Jay. She supported Jay as he stumbled along.

"You know, Theresa…" Theresa turned to face him, smiling. She was interested.

"Yes, Jay?"

"We should, like, date sometime." He grinned, pleased with himself. Theresa smiled. Was it genuine, if he was drunk? He smiled, albeit goofily, at her. She was about to lean in when his face suddenly went blank, and worried.

"Jay?"

His response was simple: Jay threw up, all over Theresa. Great. She began to hurry him further along now, keen to make it to the car. When they made it, Herry already had the car running, and everyone was belted in. Theresa sat Jay in the back, then leapt into the shotgun seat next to Herry.

"Eeew, what happened to you?" Asked Herry. "You guys reek."

"Jay threw up on me." She said angrily. It felt disgusting. Ugh. All warm and chunky… Theresa felt herself retch.

"Great. I have one person covered in spew and two dripping wet in my truck. You guys better not leave a smell in here."

"Blame Jay." Theresa grumbled.

"B-blame me for what?" Piped up a slurring Jay.

"Herry, he's gonna puke again!" Yelled Odie suddenly. Herry's body seized up with fear: not in his truck. His arm shot over to the window controls, and jabbed the button to have Jay's window down. Jay leant out the window just in time. A resulting "EWWW!" came from the group as they all collectively leaned away from Jay.

"You guys had better get that cleaned off!" Yelled Herry angrily, sounding much like his ancestor.


	4. Part 4

The group sat in the warm morning sun filtering in through the kitchen window, all fairly quiet. The kitchen was cozy, from the checked curtains on the kitchen window, to the herb garden on the window sill, to the overflowing fruit bowl on the kitchen bench. Herry stood tall, bent backed, hunched over the fridge, one arm holding the fridge door open. Sounds of food being shoved around could be heard, as well as Herry's stomach rumbling. Athena wasn't in this morning, but Herry seemed quite able to fend for himself.

Theresa sat at the breakfast bar cradling her cup of tea, fingers wrapped around the comfortingly warm, calm mug. Her hair was unbrushed, still slightly damp from her shower late into the night when they'd arrived home. She took another quiet sip of tea, basking in the warmth.

They always said tea was like a bath on the inside, and Theresa couldn't help but agree as she sat in the morning light.

To her right, Jay sat at the kitchen table, looking much worse for wear. His fingers were wrapped around the coffee mug, but Jay didn't look like he was keen on drinking much of it. His eyes were faintly closed and his head throbbed. He sat hunched, the curve of his back bent over the table's wooden edge, hair covering his eyes.

"So, regretting those extra shots yet, Jay?" Teased Theresa. It was just too good: Jay, drunk? Irresponsible? Jay rubbed his forehead in response, hunched further over. Herry lifted his head from looking in the fridge for a moment to chuckle at Jay's predicament.

"Ya know, you guys will have to clean my truck after last night."

Theresa sighed, annoyed. "That is sooo Jay's job. I'm not the one who puked everywhere."

"I threw up in Herry's car?" Groaned Jay, his voice low and rough. He rubbed his eyes, sat up a little taller. "Oh, and Theresa, I am so sorry about throwing up on you. I can't believe I did that." He finally took a sip of coffee, swallowing as if it took considerable effort.

"It's okay. I have other tops." Theresa grinned.

"Yea, but I don't have other trucks." Grumbled Herry, as he fished some eggs and bacon out of the fridge, dropping them on the counter.

Jay leant forward again, elbows resting on the wooden table, chair lurching forwards. Herry was now getting into the flow of things, chopping up copious amounts of bacon and cracking eggs happily into a frypan.

"When will I start to feel better? This can't last forever, Chronos will attack soon." Theresa rolled her eyes. No amount of alcohol would erase Chronos from Jay's system. Herry's rumbling laugh could be heard over the spitting and sizzling of his breakfast.

"It could be a few more hours before the alcohol has left your system. You'll just have to cope with not hunting down immortal Gods for the next day or so." Theresa teased again. She was very humoured seeing Jay like this: it was a good change from his usual stressed, determined persona. "And Herry, I know you eat a lot, but even that seems a bit much for you." Theresa said, eyeing off the mountain of bacon.

"I'm making Jay a bacon sandwich. Ultimate hangover cure. Plus, I'm guessing Archie and Atlanta will want some when they get up too." He winked as he flipped another piece of bacon.

"W-where are Archie and Atlanta anyway? Don't we have training this morning?" Asked Jay, yawning. He still rubbed his eyes, had his fingers on his temples. Theresa sighed: he must feel pretty awful.

"We, ah, told the Gods we've all got a stomach bug, and we needed the day off." Theresa winked. "Herry and I figured you guys training with various weapons in this state was probably not going to end well."

"Yea, plus we wanted the day off anyway." Herry voiced, grinning. "Theresa, can you pass this to Jay?" Theresa passed the hot sandwich to Jay, who seemed repulsed by it. He leant away from the table.

"We shouldn't miss training just because some of us drank too much, guys. Come on, Chronos won't-" Jay's face became very pale again, his hands clammy and shaky as he gripped the table's edge, knuckles white.

"Herry, bucket!" Yelled Theresa. Herry dropped the spatula, grabbing the bucket from next to him, tossing it to Theresa whom quickly shoved it under Jay's nose. She'd learnt from past experiences to act quickly if someone showed the signs.

"Guys, I-I'm fine, I think." Jay pushed the bucket away, and had another sip of coffee. Keen to convince Herry and Theresa that all was fine, Jay took a bite of his sandwich. Both of the teens expelled a gust of relieved breath, looking at each other.


	5. Part 5

At that moment, Archie and Atlanta both stumbled into the warm kitchen too, holding their heads and rubbing their eyes- they matched Jay all too well. Archie's golden brace creaked as his feet sluggishly stomped along the ground, purple hair ruffled. He wore grey track pants and a white t-shirt, which he'd likely slept in. Theresa didn't know what had become of his blue jacket, but given Atlanta had shot a hole in it last night Theresa guessed Archie was waiting for a female God to help him out, namely Athena.

Atlanta wore her usual clothes, her converses dragging on the ground, one sock pushed down to her ankle, her golden wrist gun still showing. Her hair was all over the place, shirt rumpled. Theresa and Herry shared a look: _some heroes these guys are._

"How's everyone feeling after last night?" Asked Atlanta tiredly, as she sat down next to Jay. Archie sat down next to Atlanta, nearly tripping over his own chair before falling happily into his seat.

"Awful." Groaned Jay again, sighing. He scrunched his eyes shut. "Okay, which one of you spiked my drink?" Atlanta glanced at Archie.

"Not us, Jay." Said Archie quizzically.

"Yea, whoever spiked yours also spiked ours." Said Atlanta. Three pairs of eyes darted to Herry and Theresa.

"Wow, guys, do you think I wanted to be puked on?" Asked Theresa, eyebrows raised, hands in the air.

"And I'm the one whose truck got plastered too, if you remember. And soaked, after you guys took a swim." The three hungover teenagers nodded amongst each other.

"So, it was Odie or Neil then…" Archie trailed off.  
>"Or someone else." Suggested Atlanta. "There are heaps of dicks who would do that. They think they're sooo funny." She added tiredly before resting her head on the table. Theresa and Herry couldn't help but laugh: whoever had done it, it <em>was<em> pretty funny.

"Hey, Theresa, can you get me some tea?" Asked Atlanta, sounding resigned to making herself feel better.

"Sure", said Theresa, standing up. "Which one?"

"Chamomile. It's meant to be good for hangovers, right?" Theresa reached up, and began making the tea. "Archie, you want any?"

"Nah, who drinks chamomile?" Atlanta punched Archie, but not with much force. Archie didn't seem all that inclined to return the gesture.

"We have got to be more careful at parties, guys." Said Jay. "This would have been the perfect opportunity to strike us." He huffed, angry with himself for letting his guard down.

"Yea, you wouldn't want Chronos seeing you performing your favourite party trick again, right?" Giggled Theresa, recalling last night's events. Jay looked at her, concerned.

"I-I don't have any party tricks…" Everyone began to laugh at this point. Jay began to grow increasingly stony-faced as their laughter increased. Atlanta snorted, and Archie began to hold his belly.

"What's so funny, guys?!" Jay stabbed at them, fists curling. But they were all laughing too hard to speak. "What did I do?"

"Well, Jay, you're great at-" Theresa couldn't finish, she was too busy laughing at the memory.

"Turns out Jay, you're pretty good at the worm when drunk." Said Herry, still chuckling.

Jay blushed, totally embarrassed by his own drunken antics he couldn't recall. He then spoke suddenly, exasperated.

"Why weren't you guys looking out for me? This is exactly the sort of thing we should be watching out for each other with!" Jay peered angrily at them all, hands pressed on the table. But they were all still laughing at him.

"We were too busy watching." Said Herry, as he tossed Archie and Atlanta another sandwich. Theresa walked over to Jay, holding Atlanta's cup of tea. She patted him on the shoulder as she passed, and leant in to whisper to him.

"You know, I'm still keen on that offer you made last night." She winked. Jay blushed crazily, head in his hands.

"Never let me drink again, you guys."


End file.
